Two-fifths of university students have worse than two Es at A-level

Scraping in: Thousands of students have lower than two Es at A-level (posed by model)

Two-fifths of students accepted into university in England last year had less than the equivalent of two Grade Es at A-level, research has revealed.

The number achieving fewer than 80 UCAS points but still given university places has doubled since 2003, according to the Higher Education Policy Institute.

Some 144,543 students from England - 40.2 per cent of the total - were below this threshold, up from 24.2 per cent seven years earlier.

The report noted that some will have other qualifications such as overseas exams that are not recognised by UCAS.

But many will be people without prior qualifications who are looking for a 'second chance' to improve their life chances through higher education.

The report found that the largest increase in university rejections was among those without any tariff points, with 51,273 missing out last year.

But it also concluded that many qualified students are being denied university places - and this is likely to rise in the future.

It found that in 2010, there were 360,000 places for new students through UCAS, and about 62,000 students (those with either more or less than 80 tariff points) missed out.

The Government has announced that 10,000 entrant places will be cut next year, the report notes, and unless these are reinstated and more places provided, up to 100,000 students could be disappointed in 2020.

HEPI director Bahram Bekhradnia said: 'We already have a lot of students that aren't making it to university, and it's a major political problem for the Government that will get worse.

'They can either increase the number of places, but without cost to themselves, which would mean making students pay more. The other possibility is to have more shorter courses.

'There's quite a lot coming from the government at the moment about two year courses - foundation degrees, but also concentrated degree courses. That won't make a major dent in the problem, and it's not a long term solution.'

The report also suggests that the middle classes are likely to dominate higher education further in the future.

The 18-20-year-old population in England is projected to fall by 13 per cent in the future.

But at the same time it is the middle classes, whose children are more likely to go to university, that are having more babies. This could fuel the demand for higher education.

Mr Bekhradnia said: 'Although the participation of less privileged groups is improving, the middle classes are having more babies, and the social structure of the population is changing. There are fewer people in the lower social groups and more from the higher groups.

'One way or another universities may become more middle class, but that's because the population is becoming more middle class.'